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COMMUNITY TOOLKIT | 5

© Alliance for Freedom, Restoration, and Justice, Inc.®

Tips for Success

The broader the base of community support for your coa-lition, the more time, resources, and personnel that will be available to assist your efforts. Establishing a core leadership team will also reinforce the structure of the coalition and progress its goals.

COORDINATOR

A coalition is most effective when a designated individual (or two) serves as a coordinator. This role provides consistent representation, administration, and communication for the coalition. Having a main point of contact ensures there is at least one person up to date about all local developments and community efforts, and also provides a dedicated per-son to build needed relationships, to find needed resources, and to keep moving your coalition’s strategy forward.

MISSION & VISION

It is important to create a clear mission statement that iden-tifies your goals, purpose, and objectives. A clear mission empowers your coalition members to share the vision, to understand how to participate effectively, and to assess your collective impact along the way.

MEMBERSHIP

Coalition membership can be as formal or informal as your coalition desires. Specific projects and initiatives may require formal memorandums of understanding (MOU) while attendance at general meetings and participation in sub-committees may be open to the general public. And

The Engage Together® Community Toolkit is designed to support the formation of new coalitions or to enhance the efforts of already existing coalitions. Below, we highlight a number of tips and best practices from coalitions nationwide.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

There are typically two types of organizational structure for collaborative community efforts. The most successful com-munities usually incorporate both.

Coalition – a group of organizations, professionals, and concerned citizens that work together toward achieving unified community goals and supporting each other’s existing efforts.

Task Force – primarily consists of law enforcement and service providers focused on investigative efforts and case management.

Regardless of the organizational structure, the key is to have all sectors from the community partic- ipating, sharing their experiences and resources, and aiding in the development and execution of the coalition’s action plan.

LEADERSHIP

Coalitions can fall under the direction of a city or county, can be led by a single organization or as a joint effort among several organizations, or may be formed by a group of con-cerned individuals.

Your coalition AND each of the

members who make up your

group are all in unique positions

to make a difference. Be mindful

to leverage both your collective and

individual strengths

.